Finding Your Niche and Other Tips for Streamlining Your Sign Business

“I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship.” — LOUISA MAY ALCOTT

DEVELOPMENT Find Your Niche

1 “Make a conscious decision what you want your specialty to be,” advises Dennis Schaub of FastTrack Signs (Bellefontaine, OH), whether you aim for your shop to specialize in certain types of products or set specific boundaries for yourself. “It is easy to try to be everything to everyone, but rarely works out well,” Schaub says.

DESIGN From the Center

2 Some designs or graphics may not have straight lines or text that can be used to level the graphic during installation, says Thomas Nance of Signarama Downtown (Louisville, KY). That is why they incorporate a ‘level line’ into their plotted graphics: a short horizontal line with a triangle that creates a center point. “This gives installers a quick reference to the center point of the art and a line to level the art,” Nance explains, adding that it also speeds up the install and helps minimize errors.

FABRICATION Bring the Heat

3 Sign Pro of Skagit Valley (Mt. Vernon, WA) has been ordering heat transfers for their apparel rather than cutting and weeding their own, Chad Lawson announces. “We no longer need to spend our [time] printing or weeding. The transfer shop is up and ready to go, we just apply and done!”

SAFETY Still in Order

4 Among the items on his schedule, Bobby Jordan of Fastsigns of White Marsh-Joppa (Joppa, MD) is ensuring that his workplace complies with safety regulations. “Conduct a quick safety audit if needed,” he says. He is also checking up on all equipment and tools to make sure they remain in good working condition, with a view to scheduling maintenance or repairs if necessary.

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CUSTOMERS Face to Face

5 Cody McElroy of Commercial Signs (Houma, LA) is visiting customers at their places of work instead of conducting business over email or the phone. “This way they will be able to meet me and decide if I’m a good person to trust to do their signs,” McElroy says.

ELECTION FEVER Election Front of Mind

6 As we enter the final full month before the presidential election, emotions are sure to run higher than usual. Social media, TV ads, constant emails and more vie for keeping the election front of mind. Trouble is, work’s got to get done. On a personal level, it would help to limit your exposure to those just mentioned plus any other media that ignites your emotions more than it informs your rational mind. Make sure the workplace is free of anything more than brief and civil conversation on the subjects of the day. This is not to say the election is unimportant; of course it is. However, discussion’s best when divested from strong emotions.

Tip Briefs

• Be honest and a genuinely nice person. Goes such a long way. — Zach Gehring, Grasshopper Wholesale Signs, Farmington Hills, MI
• Make the call, send the email. — Jonathon Yasko, North American Signs, South Bend, IN
• We photograph bin contents and glue photos to the bin. — Jeffrey Chudoff, Fastsigns of Maple Shade, Maple Shade, NJ
• Don’t turn away business, small or large. — Tanya Eubanks, Fastsigns of Mobile, Mobile, AL

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